Throughout the ages, boots have been common and popular footwear for males and for females. Cave painting in Spain, dated between 12,000 and 15,000 BC, show a man in boots of skin and a woman in boots of fur. Boots were found in the tomb of Khnumhotep, 2140–1785 BC, in Egypt. Today, boots are available in numerous variations for fashion, casual, sport and utility wear.
Modern boots are exemplified by the cowboy boot designed in Texas in the year 1878 and later popularized in cowboy movies. Typically, the boot includes an upper having a vamp for receiving the foot of the wearer and having a legging for receiving the lower leg or calf of the wearer. The vamp terminates at the forward end with a toe section for receiving the toes of the wearer and at the rear end with a heel section for receiving the heel of the wearer. Fixed to the underside of the vamp are a sole and a heel.
Generally, the vamp is relatively narrow and terminates with a pointed toe for a snug fit upon the foot. Additionally, the vamp is reinforced with a toe cap, a back stiffener or achilles tendon pad and an innersole upon which the foot rests. It is apparent, therefore, that the boot provides excellent support for the foot and lower leg of the wearer. It is equally apparent that substantial difficulty is encountered in removing the boot from the foot of the wearer.
In recognition of the arduous task of removing boots from the feet, the prior art has devised numerous removal devises commonly referred to as bootjacks. In general similarly, the prior art devices include a yoke for receiving the rear of the boot and an edge for engaging the heel. Otherwise, the structures vary substantially.
Many are outsized or rigid structures that require considerable storage space. Others require substantial manual manipulation in preparation for use. Still others are exceeding complex, having numerous components, and thereby being expensive to manufacture.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.